Kennedys rally Democrats at DNC following family's string of public scandals

Kennedy family members rallied Democrats today at the National Convention in North Carolina and revive the clan's mystique following a recent spate of scandals.

Massachusetts congressional hopeful Joseph P. Kennedy III, the grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, and Vicki Kennedy, the wife of late senator Edward 'Ted' Kennedy, will address the Democrats.

Caroline Kennedy, the only living child of President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, is also reportedly scheduled to speak in Charlotte this week.

Standard-bearer: Joe Kennedy III, who is running for a Massachusetts Congress seat, rallied his party with a speech at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday

Heir apparent: Joe Kennedy, 31, is the grandson of Bobby Kennedy and the nephew of President John F Kennedy and Teddy Kennedy. He is running for Rep Barney Frank's Congressional seat

Family support: Vicki Kennedy (left), the wife of Ted Kennedy, and Caroline Kennedy (right), the daughter of JFK and Jackie Kennedy, are also scheduled to speak to Democrats in North Carolina this week

Their appearances follow the family's
involvement in recent public spats, including gossip over singer Taylor
Swift, the suicide of Mary Kennedy and disagreements about Ted
Kennedy's legacy.

Joseph Kennedy, who
is running for the seat held by Rep. Barney Frank, will make his debut
on the national stage as he introduces a video tribute to his great
uncle, Ted Kennedy, the Boston Heraldreported.

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Vicki Kennedy will host an afternoon reception for the Edward M. Kennedy Institute and attend a John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum forum in Charlotte on Wednesday, the Herald added.

Her
running of the institute has been questioned by the late senator's
sons, Ted Jr. and Patrick, sparking a public dispute and a rare split in
the famed family.

Tribute: The Kennedys last appeared at the DNC in Denver in 2008 when Teddy Kennedy, pictured, gave a rousing speech as he battled brain cancer. He will be remembered at the DNC this year

Her stepsons are said to have become increasingly bitter against Vicki over the family's legendary compound Camelot-by-the Sea, in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Ted Kennedy specified in his will he
wanted his estate to be turned into a place of learning for young people
- the Edward M. Kennedy Institute - and Vicki has been working against
the rest of the clan to see her late husband's wish granted.

As
part of this, she has banned his sons from using the mansion's swimming
pool and when singer Taylor Swift visited for July 4 celebrations,
Vicki said the singer could not stay at the mansion.

Swift, 22, is dating 18-year-old Conor Kennedy, son of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

So
bitter are the Kennedy sons over her decision, they are said to be
launching a smear campaign against their stepmother, according to family
sources.

Tragic: The family is still reeling from the suicide of Mary Kennedy in May, pictured with her estranged husband Robert F. Kennedy Jr at the funeral of Ted Kennedy in 2009

The Boston Herald reported: 'This family
feud is really not about the Edward M. Kennedy Institute - it's about
Kennedy kids getting even with a strong woman who stood between them and
the family patriarch.'

The Kennedys are also still reeling
over the suicide of Mary Kennedy, the estranged wife of RFK Jr. who
outraged her family by moving her remains to Cape Cod against their
wishes.

The 52-year-old mother of four hanged herself in May in a barn by the couple's Westchester County home amid bitter divorce proceedings after he won temporary custody of their children.

Since
he filed for divorce two years ago, she had battled against drug and
alcohol addiction. An autopsy report showed she had antidepressants in
her system when she died.

Argument: The family has also been involved in a spat over singer Taylor Swift, pictured, who is dating RFK Jr's son Conor. Vicki Kennedy reportedly barred her from staying at the family's home

Dispute: An Honor Guard carries the casket of the late US
Sen. Edward Kennedy across the porch of his home at the Kennedy
compound in Massachusetts; the family is arguing over what to do with it

Her relatives did not attend the funeral her estranged husband organised in Bedford, New York, where they had lived. After her burial, her family organised a private tribute to her in Manhattan.

The Kennedys' appearances at the convention will be the first since Sen. Ted Kennedy's death in 2009. At the DNC in Denver in 2008, he made a rousing speech while battling a fatal brain tumor.

Former U.S. Sen. Paul Kirk, a longtime family friend, said the convention events give Democrats a chance to pay tribute to the family's long and significant history at conventions.

'I would say, I'm going to predict that this may be the only convention for a while without an elected Kennedy,' Kirk, referring to Kennedy III’s congressional race, told the Herald.